Walt Whitman constitutes the renowned poets and writers of the 1800s. Most of his publications were overtly controversial, considering his time and the accepted societal culture. His topics bordered on sexuality, politics, war, and interrelated observances in the society. However, to comprehend better Whitman’s poems, it is indispensable to have a synopsis of the style that he employed.
Although he was not the inventor, Whitman greatly advanced the impression of free verse. Free verse is seen as a poem devoid of a standard outline or assonance. Its flow of rhyme is irregular, and hence, other poetic devices such as alliteration and repetition are used to design the rhythm. This was a break from the long-established styles employed in poetry at that era. His writings portrayed the ordinary populace and the prevailing emotions. For example, in Beat! Beat! Drums! He outlaid the feelings of the Civil War and its impact on the American populace (Whitman). Using countless images, he was able to get the mood of both the northerners and the southerners in his poems, and use imagery to characterize the conflict.
Whitman is not only seen as a great poet in the history of American literature, but the other age cohorts also deem him a noteworthy personality who was not shy of expressing his mind. His representations did not stop at just the observations of societal dealings, but also depicted both romantic and scientific idealism that traversed the literary scene in the 1800s. This highlighted the spirit that Americans had, and Whitman managed to capture the progress that was being evidenced both socially and technologically.
The uniqueness of his poems helped personalize them in a way that his thoughts, ideas, and opinions on societal issues are transparent and realistic. Rather than simply outlying the points, his use of imagery gave his poems more life and made the wordings give an accurate representation of what was occurring. His free verse style gave the words a musicality that is in nature a constituent of the consciousness of man. The combination of diverse types of art aids in the combination of the senses to create a wholesome positive response of melody. Therefore, Whitman’s poems were more personal to the wider populace owing to his style and the way it enables its addressees to reflect. For example, in his poem Song of Myself, he fuses music and poetry in the arrangement of the poem to realize a melody. Thus, rather than comprehension, one listens to the poem in a musical progression.
In his interpretation of poetry, Whitman perceived a poet as being somebody who could reflect and interpret the present occurrences and prophecy of future events. The ideal poet can be characterized through Whitman in the way that he reflects his true nature and shows the realities in the immediate environment through a rhythmical practice that replicates the sounds that characterize life. The poems in his controversial collection, Leaves of Grass, arouse, entice, and entertain without losing touch of the political and social being. Charge of the Light Brigade, for instance, is among the poems with great rhyming and timing that enable the poem appear very real. The courage of warriors is reflected in a way that shows both the present and future generation and the courageousness and fear evidenced in battlegrounds. This not only applies to the different generations, but also to several nationalities in various circumstances.
Work Cited
Whitman, Walt. Classic Poetry Series. PoemHunter.Com. 2004. Web.